Michael Berman is back to his roots and dazzling visitors in a turn-of-the-century location in historic downtown Oregon City. Michael Berman, and his father Justis Berman, are the new owners of the 505 Tavern and yes, history it does have. Michael grew up in Oregon City, where he attended Mt. Pleasant Elementary School and Gardiner Middle School, then graduating from OCHS in 1983. After moving back from Montana, Berman bought a houseboat in Portland and enjoyed life on the waterfront. But he always wanted to move back to Oregon City. By purchasing the 505 “I have come back full circle,” Michael says.
The 505 has a long and storied history in the city, according to Michael. This site has been home to a drug store, a pool hall and a recreation and sporting goods store that had pool and snooker tables. “It was a tavern when my dad started at the paper mill in 1964. In the late ‘60s, there was a narrow pathway to the bar, lined with cases of beer that the bar owner sold to mill-workers,” Michael recounted. “In the ‘80s, this bar was the number four dart bar in the country and 40 teams played out of here.” Read more »
